Post Oak Trails

Saturday I went out to Post Oak Lodge to do a trail run out there. They are having a trail marathon on February 26, I am not a trail runner and do not aspire to be one but I wanted to have some variety in my training. It had rained most of the night and was very foggy on Saturday morning. About 45 people came out for training run and we separated into groups based on our 5K pace, but we wouldn't be anywhere near that pace, more like 15 min. mile. For the most part I was dressed appropriately. I had a waterproof North Face jacket and a light jacket underneath it and a technical shirt. I have a great wide brimmed waterproof hat. I had trail running shoes. The only mistake I made was to wear my capri pants and socks that didn't cover my ankles. I received only a few scratches though.
It was very muddy, sticky, slippery and cold even though it was about 42. It was a constant drizzle. You don't race on these, you pick your way through and hope you can stay up with everyone and look behind you to make sure no one else is getting too far behind. Some people had a really good time doing this, I did not. I like to move, maybe it will be better when it is drier. I value my history of non-injury, I'm concerned that I could get hurt very easily out here. But, I want to stretch myself so I'm still planning on doing this as long as my schedule permits. There is another training run on February 6 and I hope it is drier so I can get a better idea of what it would be like on firmer ground.
What I learned from this:

• Protect your ankles with ankle socks
• Bring a change of clothes, including shoes & socks (I did) and a plastic bag for dirty stuff (thanks Tess)
• Bring something to eat or gu, even if is only 6 miles, you will get famished
• Make sure you are with someone and have your cell phone (we got far behind and everyone was looking for us)

My ankles were really sore on Sunday, I dread to think what they will feel like after 26 miles. I need to put in more miles on trails if I'm going to do this. Hopefully, Feb. 6 will be a longer run. I wonder how longer this marathon will take? It took us 2 hours to go six miles but we were sloshing through muck.

The best thing about the day was that I didn't fall and the coffee and fellowship at Starbucks was a great way to wrap it up.

I can't wait to run on solid ground on Tuesday.